Tuesday, January 20, 2009

We cooked, but no camera!

We spent a nice 3 day weekend at my in-laws' "beach house", a little fixer-upper in Los Osos, CA. It is right down the road from Morro Bay, on the coast from San Luis Obispo. A really perfectly situated place for visiting wineries, the beach, Hearst Castle, whatever. Friday night we somehow appeased the traffic gods and were able to get there in time for some crispy chicken tacos at Taco Roco. We love this little place, always fresh salsa, friendly service, bottomless chips, and.. the tacos.. yum! So good that we went back again with my brother & sister in law and nephew on Monday. After enjoying some nice pastries at Carlock's (mmmm bacon & cheese fritters) Saturday we spent a few hours in San Luis Obispo: Mo's for BBQ and some time at an INDEPENDENT record store - what fun!! Then, we went to Morro Bay and were too early for the farmer's market. So, the guys played catch on the sand by the rock, and we hung out a bit. By then, it was market time -- we had to get some olive tapenade from the olive guy, they have a bruscetta mix that is awesome (we actually left it there in the fridge for my inlaws that are going next weekend), some salsa from the tamale truck (our first try.. this stuff is great), and some rock cod from the fish guy. Very tempting were his fresh oysters, but alas we don't have an oyster knife at the house... will be remedied next time we go up! The fish was pan fried simply with some s&p, butter & olive oil, then a simple sauce made with wine and a bit more butter - Andrew is the master of fish!! I roasted up some brussels sprouts --- our 10 year old requested them much to the delight of the seller -- and made a quick salad. What a great meal, rounded out with Harmony Riesling. Once my brother & sister in law and nephew arrived, we played "Jenga" (a generic version), watched Top Gear, and had many drinks.Sunday we went to Carlock's to find them not open :( -- who closes a bakery on a sunday? So, we all settled for cereal, toast, coffee, etc. before heading down to Pismo Beach. We stood in the line for Splash chowder in bread bowls, ate that on the beach, walked around a bit, then split up. The boys wanted to play some frisbee on the beach, and Andrew and I needed to do some shopping. He needed new sneakers so we stopped by the outlet mall only to end up at Big5 instead. No worries, because we were on our way to Spencer's Market, on the north end of Morro Bay. It is a small local grocery chain, and we have found that they carry the best quality beef - we picked up some steaks for dinner. After thoroughly enjoying chips with the great salsa, plus some guacamole and onion dip, we grilled up steaks, roasted potatoes, and had an overall awesome meal. We all topped it off with more drinks, and s'mores over the fire pit in the back yard. What a great weekend!! I would have had photos of all of the cooking and fun food, but my camera was sitting on my kitchen counter :(We are so thankful to have a great place to hang out with friends and family!

About Me

I love to cook. I just realized this in the last few years, although my dad is a chef so you think I would have learned from him. But I didn't, and I wish I had learned more (too busy sulking through my teenage years I guess). Welcome to my blog about food, and maybe a few other fun things thrown it for good measure!